The Oklahoma City Thunder picked up its 50th win of the season by beating the Houston Rockets 137-128 Monday night.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, appropriately, recorded his fourth 50-point game of the 2024-25 season. He finished with 51 points on 18-for-30 shooting, making five of nine 3-pointers and all 10 free throws. He added seven assists, five rebounds, a steal and a block.
Jalen Williams continued his hot shooting from Sunday night, scoring 24 points on 16 shots — including a 4-for-5 night from downtown. He also tallied four rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block.
Rockets guard Reed Sheppard, the No. 3 pick in last year’s NBA draft, made his first career start and scored a career-high 25 points on 10-for-17 shooting with three triples. Sheppard registered five assists, two rebounds, two steals and a block.
Cam Whitmore finished with 27 points, 11 rebounds (four offensive), three assists, two steals and two blocks.
Statistic | Thunder | Rockets |
|---|---|---|
Points | 137 | 128 |
2-Pointers | 31-for-60 | 33-for-67 |
3-Pointers | 17-for-37 | 16-for-35 |
Free Throws | 24-for-27 | 14-for-17 |
Turnovers | 13 | 15 |
Offensive Rebounds | 14 | 15 |
The Thunder started Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein and Luguentz Dort.
The Rockets started Jalen Green, Whitmore, Jabari Smith Jr. and Jock Landale next to Sheppard. Houston missed All-Star Alperen Sengun as well as Amen Thompson, Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks and Tari Eason.
Gilgeous-Alexander found Hartenstein for a floater to put the Thunder on the board and made a quick interior pass to Holmgren for two points minutes later. He also racked up 20 first-quarter points on 12 shots, making all seven field goals from different spots on the floor. His step-back triple with 26 seconds left in the frame brought Oklahoma City within a point.
Houston, meanwhile, received much more balanced offense during the quarter — it made nine paint shots as seven different players scored. Whitmore grabbed three offensive rebounds and made two putback layups but missed a breakaway dunk with 3:19 left, leading to an immediate Gilgeous-Alexander three. The Rockets led 31-30 after 12 minutes.
Sheppard and Smith Jr. each converted two jumpers within the second quarter’s first three minutes, putting the Rockets up by nine and forcing a Thunder timeout. Oklahoma City had missed five of six field goals in the frame but scored on its next seven possessions — Kenrich Williams, Cason Wallace and Jalen Williams made multiple field goals during the home team’s 14-4 mid-quarter run.
Gilgeous-Alexander checked back in with 4:41 left before halftime and immediately drew free throws on Jalen Green’s ill-timed swipe to his arm. The Thunder All-Star splashed two mid-range jumpers and made a difficult reverse layup to finish the half with 28 points on 10-for-16 shooting. Oklahoma City maintained a narrow 63-62 lead at the break.
Hartenstein threw a backdoor lob to Holmgren before Jalen Green left Dort in the dust on a mid-range jumper. The Thunder then scored seven straight points, including Gilgeous-Alexander swishing another step-back 3-pointer, with Smith Jr. missing consecutive uncontested layups. Holmgren returned the favor to Hartenstein minutes later, as Houston coach Ime Udoka and Jalen Green picked up technical fouls in the first four minutes.
Gilgeous-Alexander reached 40 points from a driving layup and Jalen Williams knocked down his third 3-pointer with 5:19 remaining in the third quarter, putting Oklahoma City on top by a game-high 17 points. The Rockets received three straight triples from Whitmore and Aaron Holiday to get within nine points and force a Thunder timeout. Five more Gilgeous-Alexander points helped his team secure a 102-89 lead after three quarters.
The Rockets went on a 12-0 run in the early fourth quarter, including eight straight Sheppard points, before Jalen Williams made a transition layup and Dort nailed consecutive triples to restore a 14-point Oklahoma City lead.
Oklahoma City takes on the Grizzlies in Memphis this Wednesday, March 5 at 8:30 p.m. CST.
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